Buffalo County Wisconsin was founded around 1850 and was named after the Buffalo River flowing through all and then down into the Mississippi River. The original settlement was named homes landing after a group of people famous for trading with the Chippewa and Sioux Indians.

It was the Swiss, German, and Scandinavian immigrants who first settled on what is today’s Buffalo County. The new and growing lumber industry was the big draw for these people, as well as for tile soil and access to the nearby Mississippi River. Originally, the nearby town of Alma was named 12 mile bluff.

Buffalo County Wisconsin farmers used the Mississippi River as a means of transporting crops for shipment. During the Civil War the area economy was given added support with wheat in great demand. But after the war many settlers moved West due to decreasing soil quality from over farming.

When the quality of the land and farming took a turn for the worse many farmers turned instead to dairy farming. Many creameries were built to process milk from local dairy cows.

Currently the area features many dairy farms, as well as tourist attractions, an excellent deer hunting land. Some of the largest Whitetail deer box in the country are taken from the woods of Buffalo County Wisconsin. Because of this hunting land throughout the area is always at a premium. Both rifle hunters and archery hunters flock to the state to take part in the annual deer hunting season running from September through December. In 2015 Wisconsin also legalized deer hunting with crossbows. This has opened up another opportunity for hunters who previously were unable to hunt during the archery seasons.

Buffalo County also features a variety of lakes, rivers and streams for anglers and pleasure boaters to enjoy. Largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, musky, walleye, crappie, and bluegill are some of the most pursued species of game fish. Some streams are stocked with both brown and rainbow trout, and some sustain naturally reproducing populations of native brook trout as well.

The landscape throughout is quite hilly due to the close proximity to the Mississippi river valley. Much of the real estate offers beautiful country views of the hills and bluffs. Many of the homes feature ample acreage for hunting and fishing, with some parcels featuring smaller hunting cabins on site.

Overall the real estate market in the area has rebounded nicely from the down turn the entire state experienced back in 2005. Mortgage interest rates remain low on both residential and agricultural parcels.

Hunting land leases are also very popular throughout the area. Groups of hunters looking for acreage to hunt on will often times band together on land leases, offering land owners thousands of dollars per year in exchange for permission to hunt for trophy bucks during the states archery and rifle whitetail seasons.

Leases are becoming increasing difficult to find, however, as the area becomes more and more popular with trophy deer hunters. The cost for purchasing hunting real estate can vary fro $2000 per acre upwards to around $5000 per acre depending on the type of terrain and proximity to prime whitetail habitat.

Some deer hunters claim that the prime hunting days of Buffalo County are passed now that the area has become such a prominent name in WI deer hunting and trophy buck potential. Others beg to differ. Now that whitetail deer herd management has progressed and land owners have become more and more aware of what works to keep the herd healthy, and the antlers growing, many areas that were once void of deer now thrive.

Predators are becoming a bit of a concern in some areas of Buffalo county, however. Coyote populations seem to be exploding, with deer fawns one of the main dishes on their spring time menus. And now wolves are showing up with consistency, and black bears, also infamous for munching on whitetail deer fawns, are beginning to make the area their home as well.

Each season, more and more buffalo county deer hunters are realizing how crucial it is to keep predators in check. Go door to door asking land owners for deer hunting permission and you’ll be laughed out of the county, but pound the same doors asking for permission to hunt coyotes and you’ll get big smiles and warm welcomes.

Predators like coyotes are also tearing into the wild turkey populations, not to mention the native foxes whose dens are molested by hungry coyotes. All in all it’s a great time to get in to predator hunting anywhere throughout Wisconsin.